Teen injured in Village East street fight

A fight that left one teenager in a coma and another with an attempted-murder charge Sunday was caused by a petty, long-standing but increasingly-violent dispute between neighborhoods, residents said.

Matthew PleasantStaff Writer

HOUMA — A fight that left one teenager in a coma and another with an attempted-murder charge Sunday was caused by a petty, long-standing but increasingly-violent dispute between neighborhoods, residents said.A group of teenagers from Mechanicville fought with those in nearby Village East on Baker Drive about 2 p.m., said Maj. Malcolm Wolfe, a Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesman. Deputies have responded to similar disturbances there before, he said, but never this violent.Dustin Calloway, 19, of Village East, was slammed to the ground by another teenager and lost consciousness, Wolfe said. Deputies found him on the ground, bleeding from his ears.That evening, deputies arrested a 16-year-old East Street resident accused of causing Calloway’s injuries. He is charged with attempted second-degree murder and remained at the Terrebonne Parish detention center this morning.Deputies are withholding his name because he is a minor.Calloway was taken to Leonard Chabert Medical Center and later to a New Orleans hospital in a coma, relatives said. He is now awake and talking to family, often speaking in one-word responses.“It’s like he’s far away,” said Evelyn Willis, 66, his grandmother.Calloway seemed to have outgrown the neighborhood feuds he used to take part in, relatives said. A former Ellender High School student, he plans to earn his GED and had expressed a desire to leave Village East.His maturing made his injuries more heartbreaking to family, Willis said.“Parents need to check on their children and see what they’re doing,” she said. “They don’t worry until someone cries out.”

‘NOT LIKE MOST BOYS’Village East residents who witnessed the fight said Calloway sat on his bicycle in the 3600 block of Baker Drive when the group from Mechanicville arrived.Calloway was hit once and began fighting, they said. He was caught off guard when a teenager grabbed him by his calfs and threw him to the ground. Witnesses ran to shield Calloway from more blows as he lay on the street wide-eyed and bleeding in an apparent seizure, residents said. They held him to the ground until an ambulance arrived.“He’s not like most boys around here fighting,” said a 27-year-old woman who lives on Baker Drive. She requested her name not be published for fear of retaliation. “He be to himself.”Residents said the fight followed a Thanksgiving night confrontation on Thomas Drive. Wolfe said deputies cleared a crowd gathered there but made no arrests.On two occasions last week, deputies stopped groups of 10 to 15 teenagers from entering Village East, Wolfe said. They were known to cause disturbances in the area.

‘BETTER STAY INSIDE’Residents chalk up the fighting to insignificant turf wars common to the area. A 21-year-old Friendswood Drive resident said the fights are part of growing up in a tough area.But the size of crowds involved has grown.“You gotta have a little scuffle every now and then,” said the resident, who requested his name not be published. “But nothing like that.”The teenagers group together for protection, he said. Their numbers also send a message.“See that group of kids,” he said, “you better stay inside.”Mechanicville was the site of two large fights this year.In September, seven teenagers who attend Oaklawn Junior High were arrested for allegedly taking part in fights at the Authement Street Park and at East and Senator streets. Two teenagers had broken jaws.The crowds that gathered numbered between 75 to 100, according to Houma Police. Officers believe they were fighting over a stolen bicycle.Joe Thompson, who runs the Mechanicville Weed and Seed, a crime-prevention program, said feuds between neighborhoods have gone on for years and aren’t limited to Mechanicville and Village East.Teenage cliques used to fight bare-handed, but some have been found with weapons like brass knuckles. The fights can start over harsh words traded online and turn into street violence.“Some have no respect for each other and they don’t care who they hurt,” Thompson said. “Now they got a child in the hospital. That’s the sad thing.”

Staff Writer Matthew Pleasant can be reached at 857-2202 or matthew.pleasant@houmatoday.com.

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